Interview with Derek Thompson, Author of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind

Derek Thompson grew up in South Charleston, Ohio, where he received a BA in communication in 2005 at Wittenberg University. He then pursued a corporate sales career at AT&T where he excelled in the high paced sales environment up until 2008.

During this time he experienced his first manic episode which changed everything. He was diagnosed as bipolar and struggled to understand what his new diagnosis meant. To try and cope with his confusion he started to write a blog, which eventually turned into a humorous memoir.

Derek currently resides on one of his family’s farms in rural Ohio.

You started a blog before you wrote your book and mentioned it being very therapeutic. Can you tell us why you started blogging?

Sure, it’s my humorous memoir about my bipolar life as a Millennial that’s organized as a mood chart rather than by chronological order. After my first manic episode and bipolar diagnosis in 2008 I spent almost a year reading everything I could find over bipolar from spiritual books to memoirs. While much of this information was helpful I never found anything I could relate to; something I could get engaged with. So when I decided to start writing my blog as a therapeutic release I tried to write in a way that would be entertaining and engaging to people like me out there living with bipolar, which just happened to include a lot of sarcasm. Then last year after complaining enough to myself that there wasn’t a voice out there representing me I decided to put the book together. In short it’s a story of being young and feeling lost, dealing with heartbreak and still finding plenty to laugh about.

Can you tell us what’s inside your book that would be terrifying?

Whenever I’m at the severe ends of the mood chart; violet for severely depressed and red for severely elevated, I experience some terrifying situations. At this point in my moods I have lost my touch with reality and I lose my perspective on the world. It’s at these times in my life when I can be out of control and the mania or depression has taken over. Many of the entries in these colors I debated over on whether to write about due to the graphic and difficult experiences discussed. However when I decided to write the book I knew I wanted to use it to help others fighting like me so I believed honesty was the best way to help; oh and I’ve found trying to make them laugh at times doesn’t hurt either.

What’s next for you Derek?

I’ve decided to try my hand at a novel for my next project. It’s going to be loosely based off my life and will essentially be a mysterious adventure through a manic mind. The reader is going to be able to experience what it is like to be in a manic episode as they follow me through what I experience in my psychosis. I’m in the early stages of planning and organizing but so far I’m pretty excited for the potential the story has.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I really don’t have much more to say about myself but I’d like to ask your readers if anyone personally knows Britney Spears and could find out if she got my flowers? I never got a thank you note; not that I’m trying to make a big deal about it or anything.